MAIS Students and Alumna Present at Graduate Liberal Studies Symposium

Two students and one alumna of the Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS)
presented at the Sixth Annual Graduate Liberal Studies Symposium, held this year from
June 23-24, 2012 at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. Accompanied
by department interim chair, Dr. Susan G. Carter, the students had the opportunity
to present their work and share ideas as well as engage in discussion with graduate
students from other schools.

Abstracts

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) promote the donation of used medical equipment
and excess medical supplies as delivering needed goods to provide healthcare to the
developing world. The reality is that much of what is received is broken, obsolete
or inappropriate. These "donations" have financial and environmental costs associated
with them that are paid for by the recipient organizations and the citizens of the
receiving countries. Using a theoretical framework of neoliberalism, I deconstruct
the notion that donated used medical equipment maintains its life-saving status at
the end of its lifecycle, and propose a policy that will allow recipient countries
and organizations to make a cost-benefit assessment that includes the end-of-life
environmental disposal costs of donated medical equipment.

Jennifer M. Ortiz, Strange Fruit: How the Labor Movement, Communism and a Photograph
Wove a Song

The American Communist Party, the anti-lynching movement, a Jewish schoolteacher,
and Billie Holiday are an unlikely compendium of people and events; but in 1939, their
paths intersected, creating a legacy that would continue to express itself years later.
This convergence resulted in a "common consciousness" that made it possible for this
varied cross-section of American culture to traverse.

Jean Richardson, '12, In Your Own Hands: Personal Integrity and the Individual's Experience
of Work Life

Deep systems thinking and philosophic principles underlie the agile project management
framework which has been test over the last 10 years in industry. This framework know
as Scrum has contributed to the recovery of character in the workplace while simultaneously
improving organizational execution and improving the lot of the individual. Using
the emergence of white collar crime over the last two decades as a backdrop for discussion,
I focus on knowledge leaders and workers in complex organizations and how application
of this framework results in a more authentic personal freedom than many workers can
lay claim to in today's workplaces.